Daily TribuneIn a joint report with Japan’s Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital, the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange said the projection reflects accelerating tokenization of government bonds, mutual funds, equities and other investment instruments.
‘The Philippines has a unique advantage: blockchain wallets are already mainstream,’ declares PDAX founder and CEO Nichel Gaba (left), as National Treasurer Sharon Almanza (center) and GCash head of Crypto and vice president Luis Buenaventura (right) listen. ‘We’re not starting from scratch. The infrastructure to deliver tokenized assets to millions of Filipinos already exists in their pockets.’ Currently, mobile wallets such as GCash and PDAX already offer tokenized financial instruments, allowing qualified users to invest with as little as P500.
Photograph courtesy of PDAX
The Philippines’ tokenized-asset market could reach $60 billion by 2030, according to the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX).
In a joint report released Thursday with Japan’s Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital, PDAX said the projection reflects accelerating tokenization of government bonds, mutual funds, equities and other investment instruments.
One of the world’s most digitally-connected markets
The study, “Project Bayani: The Philippines’ Asset Tokenization Opportunity,” argues that the country — already one of the world’s most digitally connected markets — is well-positioned to “leapfrog” traditional finance by using widely adopted mobile wallet infrastructure to distribute tokenized investment products securely and at scale.
Process converts ownership rights to an asset
Tokenization is the process of converting ownership rights to an asset — such as real estate, commodities, art, or traditional securities — into a digital token stored on a blockchain. These tokens can represent fractional or full ownership and can be transferred or traded like cryptocurrency.
The report notes that this system boosts liquidity, lowers transaction barriers and enables broader financial inclusion.
The study found that over 14 percent of Filipinos own cryptocurrency, far higher than the 2.4 percent who own stocks and the less than 1 percent who hold bonds.
According to the report, this gap highlights how traditional financial products often require higher minimum investments and more complex onboarding, making them less accessible to the average Filipino.
Unique advantage
“The Philippines has a unique advantage: blockchain wallets are already mainstream,” said PDAX Founder and CEO Nichel Gaba.
“We’re not starting from scratch. The infrastructure to deliver tokenized assets to millions of Filipinos already exists in their pockets. Our focus now is to connect that infrastructure to real, regulated financial products,” he added.
Mobile wallets such as GCash and PDAX already offer tokenized financial instruments, allowing qualified users to invest with as little as P500. Nearly half of all bond accounts in recent issuances now hold tokenized bonds, the report noted — evidence that digital versions of traditional investment products may soon dominate distribution.
